June 1989
June 4: The Chinese army brutally suppresses the democracy movement in Beijing with a massacre in Tiananmen Square (The Square of Heavenly Peace): the number of dead is estimated at several thousand. – At the elections for the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, and the senate, in which "Solidarity" is allowed to take part, the communists suffer a heavy defeat. While a majority of 65 to 35 in favour of the communists has been agreed on in advance for the Sejm elections, "Solidarity" wins 92 of the 100 seats in the senate. – In the Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, there are clashes between Uzbeks and the Shi’ite minority of the Meshchera, which are broken up by force.
June 8: The GDR Volkskammer calls the massacre in Tiananmen Square on June 4 the "putting-down of a counter-revolution."
June 12: Hungary’s joining of the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees comes into force. The Convention makes it unlawful to send refugees back to the country from which they have escaped. A worried Stasi delegation in Budapest enquires about the consequences for GDR refugees. The Hungarian secret service chief Ferenc Pallagi tells it that GDR citizens will still not be recognised as refugees, and will be deported to the GDR. "Leaving for West Germany/Austria or another country of their choice will not be permitted."
June 12-15: During a state visit to West Germany, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, meets with demonstrations of support and enthusiasm at his public appearances ("Gorbimania"). He holds intensive talks with the West German chancellor, Helmut Kohl, and the two leaders build a relationship of mutual trust. They sign a "Joint Statement" in which both sides recognise the right of every state "to freely choose its own political and social system" and the "respect for the right of all peoples to self-determination" as irrevocable principles of their political lines.
June 20: Violent unrest in the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.
June 22/23: The 8th Plenary Assembly of the SED Central Committee meets in East Berlin. There is criticism of Gorbachev’s behaviour in West Germany, particularly regarding his lack of reaction to alleged "attacks" by Chancellor Kohl on the GDR; the relevant passages are not published. The meeting is concluded far ahead of schedule as there are not enough topics for discussion.
Honecker creates a strange kind of highlight with an insertion into the report by the Politburo. Shortly before, the Politburo had welcomed the intention of the city of Leipzig to make a bid to host the summer Olympic Games in 2004. Honecker reads out the following commentary by RIAS to the Central Committee: "So Erich Honecker, at least, thinks that the GDR will still exist in the year 2004." The Central Committee members double up with laughter – and Erich Honecker and Egon Krenz join in loudly.
In June, 12428 GDR citizens manage to flee to the West; 10646 people are given permission to leave the GDR.
